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Access All Areas

About the campaign

We launched our Access All Areas campaign back in 2015 after hearing from countless guide dog owners about being refused access to public places because of their dog. This is almost always illegal. Under the Equality Act, guide dog and other assistance dog owners have the right to enter most services, premises and vehicles with their dog.

Our research shows that the most frequent places that guide dog owners are refused access to are minicabs, taxis, restaurants and shops. This is why we’ve been calling for the government to introduce Disability Equality Training for minicab and taxi drivers, to make them aware of the law and how better to support people with a visual impairment. We’ve been making similar calls in countries across the United Kingdom.

The following video shows the impact on a guide dog owner who is refused access to a taxi or minicab.

Why we're campaigning

75% of assistance dog owners we surveyed have been refused access to a restaurant, shop or taxi.

In a one-year period, 42% of assistance dog owners were refused entry to a taxi or minicab because of their dog.

33% of assistance dog owners surveyed were refused entry to a minicab or taxi because the driver said they had an allergy, but didn't hold a valid medical exemption certificate as legally required.

20% of assistance dog owners surveyed said that a minicab or taxi arrived but the driver drove off without even speaking to them.

What we have achieved

In 2016 hundreds of campaigners across the UK took to the streets to collect over 8,000 signatures for the Access All Areas petition as part of our Action for Access Day in May.

In June 2016 over 100 guide dog owners attended a lobby of Parliament in Westminster to speak to MPs about how access refusals from shops, restaurants and taxis affect them on a daily basis. We handed the first Access All Areas petition, with 50,523 signatures, to the Minister for Disabled People, Justin Tomlinson MP. Andrew Gwynne MP announced that he would introduce a Bill to make it a condition of taxi and minicab drivers' licences that they take part in disability equality training. Unfortunately, the Bill ran out of time to be debated.

In 2017 A second petition was launched, calling on the Government to ensure that all taxi and minicab drivers take part in disability equality training to understand the rights and needs of disabled people. Another successful day of action in April saw campaigners collect over 10, 000 signatures for the petition! We also took the campaign to party conferences where politicians tried their luck at a shuffleboard.

In April 2018 we handed over 46,000 signatures to Government, along with a box filled with stress cards to remind the Minister that 42% of guide dog owners face discrimination.

We are continuing to work with licensing authorities to ensure that they adopt ourdisability equality training and that taxi and minicab drivers understand the rights and needs of disabled people.

What's next?

The next big moment in our Access All Areas campaign will be holding a mass lobby in Parliament on 19 June. We aim to connect as many guide dog owners as possible with their MPs to help build support for this vital campaign.

Before then, we are asking people to write to their MP. We want people to ask the Government to commit to a date when they will introduce the requirement for disability equality training for all taxi and minicab drivers. The more MPs we reach, the greater the chance of change. Help us - write to your MP today.

Get involved

We will then contact you via email with our latest campaign news and activity and how you can get involved. From signing petitions and sharing posts on social media, to writing to MPs; our campaigns community help us to drive change. Will you help us make a difference?

Each refusal is crushing, confidence shattering, rejecting, and traumatic. I always feel that I don't want to go out after - but work dictates I must.

Guide Dogs is a working name of The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association. Registered Office: Hillfields, Burghfield Common, Reading, Berkshire RG7 3YG. A company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (291646) and a charity registered in England and Wales (209617) and Scotland (SC038979)